The invention relates generally to sign holders. More particularly, the present invention relates to a point of purchase telescopic sign holder which provides information concerning a package or item located adjacent the sign holder.
Shelving structures and related display units for displaying merchandise are a common sight in any type of store or commercial establishment. The desire of any merchant is and always has been to draw a shopper's attention to the items the merchant is offering for sale.
Vertically extending pegboard surfaces are particularly effective for displaying small, high volume merchandise on hooks and other horizontally extending fasteners. Such pegboard display systems have long been popular with retail merchants. The pegboard support has a matrix of uniformly spaced holes that can receive product support devices such as display hooks or brackets. These display hooks have a mounting base including one or more hook shaped prongs which extend rearwardly of the mounting base and engage selected mounting holes in the matrix of holes formed in the pegboard support. When mounted at desired positions on the display surface, the display hooks project forwardly thereof to hold merchandise.
Of course, there are also a wide variety of known shelving displays as well. The merchandise displayed in each of these ways needs to have its price identified. This is generally done by sign holders. Sign holders can also be employed to indicate that a particular item is on sale, as well as for other purposes. A variety of differing sign holders and methods of attachment of those sign holders to support structures located adjacent the merchandise are known.
In a first type, a separate display hook and sign holder are mounted to a pegboard. The display hook has a mounting base and a support arm connected to the mounting base and extending forwardly of the front surface of the support panel. The sign holder has a mounting base, a display arm and an information display plate. The mounting base can be a plate which is thin enough to permit it to be interposed between the pegboard and the base of the display hook. The plate is also provided with engagement means for engaging the prongs of the display hook to prevent the sign holder from sliding down in relation to the display hook.
In another design, the sign holder has a mounting base with a prong which can be secured in an aperture of the support panel adjacent the location of the display hook. However, with different lengths of display hooks, different lengths of such conventional sign holders are also necessary. Generally, the display hooks can range from 10 to 14 inches. Therefore, a variety of sign holder lengths is necessary, one for each length of display hook. This is disadvantageous from the standpoint of the merchant who needs to replace the sign holder used every time a different length display hook is employed.
Another display hook and information display panel system includes a unitary arrangement in which the sign holder is of one piece with the display hook such that both elements are manufactured as a single plastic piece. Obviously with a unitary arrangement, there is no problem in matching the length of the sign holder to the length of the display hook.
An adjustable length sign holder is also known. This sign holder generally includes a plastic mounting base having a through socket in which a metal display arm may slide to adjust the length of the sign holder. However, this type of information display bracket demands that there be room behind the pegboard to accommodate whatever length of display arm extends through the pegboard. In addition, with this sign holder, there is no means provided to securely lock the display arm in the mounting base to prevent a sliding movement thereof.
Also known is an adjustable length guard assembly for a pegboard hook wherein the flexible guard is adapted to overlie the arm of the hook and a shield of the guard substantially encloses the outer end of the hook. The guard is formed by two slidable telescoping sections. The effective length of the guard can be changed to enable the guard to be used with hanger arms of different lengths. However, the known types of adjustable sign holders do not display a sign in a “flag” fashion, i.e., with the sign extending along, or in a plane approximately parallel to, a longitudinal axis of the sign holder.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved adjustable length sign holder which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.